Papworth’s chief executive Stephen Posey said: "It was a wonderful accolade for the staff and care we deliver at Papworth. It's gone down very well with the staff as receiving royal recognition was very special indeed."

What the new private en-suite rooms will look like (Image: Keith Jones)

He said it was "wonderful" to see inside the new building and that it brought into "sharp focus" how much the hospital will change.

"Our challenge is to bring as much of the good from the existing hospital to the new building," he added.

"The current Papworth site is historic. It has lots of individually designed buildings. Lots of patients have to be transferred in the open air.

"It's served its purpose. People are very fond of it, but in terms of modern healthcare delivery, the new design will facilitate that."

The ground floor is where outpatients will be seen and it will also feature a large waiting area and restaurant.

The hospital's high-tech operating theatres and critical care areas are up on the first floor, with mechanical and electrical services taking up the second floor.

This includes a vast air conditioning system that filters and controls airflow for the rooms below to ensure it is clean and at the right temperature and humidity.

A vast air conditioning system will control the cleanliness, temperature and humidity of individual rooms (Image: Keith Jones)

On the third, fourth and fifth floors are the hospital's wards, which include 240 inpatient beds in private, en suite rooms with floor-to-ceiling windows.

Down in the basement a tunnel is being built out to connect Papworth to neighbouring Addenbrooke's Hospital. There are plans to extend this to the nearby heart and lung research institute in the coming years.

The new critical care ward (Image: Keith Jones)

Skanska will manage an initial 'soft' handover to the Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust in February to begin the installation of high-tech equipment.

By July 2018 the hospital will start to move in properly with a target completion date of September.

Mr Posey said: "We will be using our existing staff but we are recruiting at the moment. We've stepped up our domestic and international capacity."

Consultant cardiologist Dr Will Davies, who has helped shape the design of the new hospital said: "It's a great opportunity to move into a purpose built facility that we've been able to work from the ground up, rather than a place that has served us well for 100 years but has come to the end of its life.

"It's going to be fantastic. We're going to be used by the manufacturers we've chosen to be a world class show case for physicians across the world to see what we've built here.

"It's not often you get that in your career. The patients are at the centre of everything and we will have reliable equipment that we can use to it's full potential."